ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2364 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2364 ************************************ From: "Sara L Friedemann" 8 Oct 2001 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if the feminine name was used in Germany between 1350 and 1550. Here is the information we have found. is a French derivative of the Germanic feminine name , with the diminutive suffixes <-el-> and <-ine>. We have found in use in 13th century France [1] and in England from the 12th century through the 16th [4], but we have found no evidence at all that it was used in Germany. If you would like to consider German options, we found in the 12th century and in 1333 and 1353. [2,3] Other late-period German feminine names that would be appropriate for your time period can be found in the following article: "15th-Century German Women's Names" http://www.s-gabriel.org/docs/german15f.html If using the name is more important to you, we recommend that you consider a French or English name rather than a German one. If you would like more information on the use of this name in England or France; or if you'd like information on surname practices in Germany or elsewhere, please write us again. We hope that this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter were provided by Julie Stampnitzky, Arval Beniceour, Talan Gwynek, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Juliana de Luna. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 08Oct01 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Colm Dubh, "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris", Proceedings of the Known World Heraldic Symposium 1996 (SCA: Montgomery, Alabama; WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997) http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html [2] Socin, Adolf, _Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch. Nach oberrheinischen Quellen des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts_ (Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 1903; Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1966). p. 51 [3] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, _Etymologisches Woerterbuch der deutschen Familiennamen_ (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag, 1957-1960). s.n. Ave [4] is found in a number of places in England from the 12th century through the 16th century. [5,6,7,8,9] [5] Nicolaa de Bracton, "A Statistical Survey of Given Names in Essex Co., England, 1182-1272", Known World Heraldic Symposium Proceedings 1995 (SCA Inc.; WWW: privately published, 1997) http://members.xoom.com/nicolaa/names.html [6] Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English Surnames_" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/ [7] Talan Gwynek, "Late Sixteenth Century English Given Names" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/eng16/ [8] Talan Gwynek, "Given Names from Early 13th Century England" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/eng13/ [9] Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, "Given Names in Chesham, 1538-1600/1" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/chesham/